Be Alert! - Sept. 25, 2006

Galatians 1:8  
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!

1 Timothy 4:1-3  
But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.

Jeremiah 51:9
We applied healing to Babylon, but she was not healed

2 Corinthians 11: 3-4

But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.

Matthew 18:1-6
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
"Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. "And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Genesis 12:3
And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."

The Pope And Islam
MORIEL MINISTRIES - by James Jacob Prasch - September 18, 2006

We have a Pope who in his role as Cardinal Joseph Radzinger issued the 'Criminale Solicitacciones' instruction on behalf of his old boss, John Paul II. This document effectively instructed Roman Catholic bishops to protect sex pervert pedophile clergy at the expense of not protecting the little children whose lives these demonic priests and nuns destroy. This orchestrated campaign to obstruct justice and allow wide spread pedophilia to continue was effectively perpetrated at the behest of The Vatican.

Hypocrisy upon hypocrisy, virtually every single Roman Catholic diocese in the USA alone has been found guilty and liable in court and been forced to pay major damages, fortunately sending some these corrupt diocese into bankruptcy. The same trends are exposed in globally in Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and more so in Ireland and The Third World

Like his predecessors, Radzinger cum Pope Benedict is a vile and criminal of the lowest and most wicked and perverse kind. We are talking about small children being sexually violated and sex criminals dressed in cassocks and habits who belong in prison being protected.

In his youth, this pope wore the swastika and fought for the nazis and Hitler. Now he heads the same institution that sheltered both nazi war criminals from justice with its rat route, and then sheltered child molesting priests and nuns from justice. Only a U.S. Justice Dept. directive ordering a private prosecution dropped because the pope is a foreign head of state prevents this criminal from being proven in federal court to be the kind of criminal he is. 

The centuries old inquisitional papal history of Jew hatred continues in the form of pro Islamic anti Israel bias by the Vatican.

Now the papacy can taste what Israel is up against in the aftermath of Islamic reaction to the citation by the pope of the remarks of a long dead Byzantine emperor, Manuel II Paleologos.

As God promised in Obadiah 15 to those who cheer the enemies of the Jews: 'As you have been done it will be one to you - your dealings will return upon your own head'.

Here in Israel as of today, September 18th - 7 Roman Catholic and Anglo-Catholic churches have been burned by the moslems on The West Bank. The Vatican is getting due repayment for its pro Islamic anti Israel bias by divine retribution at the hands of the anti Semitic , anti Christian Islamic barbarism the papacy has pandered to.

The conflict of cultures becomes increasing undeniable, even by the political and religious liars who try and convince us otherwise.

http://www.moriel.org/articles/discernment/islam/pope_and_islam.htm

The Pope, Islam and the Dome of the Rock
by Calvin Smith
Midlands Bible College

All we’ve heard today is how the Pope’s words have deeply offended Muslims. But consider the following statements: “The Sonship of Jesus and the Trinity are false”, and “It is not fitting that God should beget or father a child”.  These statements, which are deeply offensive to Christians (who follow Jesus, the Only Begotten Son of God), are permanently inscribed within the Dome of the Rock (see Biblical Archaeological Review vol 32 no 4, July-August 2006, 36-47, 68).  I am reminded of that old adage that suggests those living in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. I would also like to know why Islam’s rude dismissal of Christianity in this way is rarely, if ever, reported by the media. Mutual respect should be just that - mutual - and until it is, Muslims should expect to take the rough with the smooth like the rest of us.

http://www.moriel.org/articles/discernment/islam/pope_islam_dome_of_the_rock.htm

Pope stresses respect for Muslims
BBC NEWS - September 25, 2006 - Pope Benedict XVI has expressed "total and profound respect" for the Muslim faith, as he attempts to defuse a row between Islam and the Catholic Church.

He made the remarks in a meeting with envoys from the Muslim world, weeks after a speech in Germany prompted an angry reaction by some Muslims.

Iraq 's ambassador said it was time to move on from the row and build bridges.

But the Indonesian envoy said he was surprised that there was no direct dialogue at the meeting.

In the space of just half an hour, the pontiff made a brief speech to envoys before greeting them individually, but there was no general discussion.

Muslim leaders had been demanding an unequivocal apology from the Pope for his words.

Dialogue welcomed

The meeting was held at the Pope's residence near Rome.

Ambassadors from 21 countries and a representative from the Arab League attended, as well as Islamic representatives in Italy.

Of mainly Muslim countries with diplomatic relations with the Vatican, only Sudan failed to attend.

"I would like today to stress my total and profound respect for all Muslims," the Pope said in the speech.

He called for "sincere and respectful dialogue", adding that Christians and Muslims alike must reject all forms of violence and respect religious liberty.

Correspondents say the latter was a reference to restrictions on the church's activity in some Muslim countries.

"Since the beginning of my pontificate I have had occasion to express my wish to continue to establish bridges of friendship with believers of all religions, showing particularly my appreciation in the belief in dialogue between Muslims and Christians," he said.

"...The inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue between Christians and Muslims is, in effect, a vital necessity, on which a large part of our future depends."

He also quoted his predecessor, John Paul II, stating the need for "reciprocity in all fields".

Iraqi ambassador Albert Yelda said he was satisfied by the Pope's remarks.

"I think it is time to put what happened behind us and build bridges among all the civilisations," he said.

But in a BBC interview, the ambassador of Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, pointed out that the Pope had not referred directly to the speech which sparked the controversy.

"We had hoped that there would have been a dialogue, but that was not the case," Bambang Prayitno said.

"There was no dialogue between the Pope and the guests... In general, we were actually a bit surprised that the meeting was a short one and just like that."

'Misunderstood'

The pontiff has expressed regret following the reactions in some countries to words of a speech he made in southern Germany earlier in the month.

On Wednesday, he told pilgrims at the Vatican that his remarks in Bavaria last week had been "misunderstood".

He said his use of a quote from a 14th-Century Byzantine emperor, Manuel II Paleologos, did not reflect his personal opinion.

The quote says: "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

The Pope said his real intention had been to "explain that religion and violence do not go together, but religion and reason do".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5376556.stm

Joel 2:31
"The sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood
Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.

1 Peter 4:12-14
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

Matthew 24:9
"Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.

Christians In Muslim World Are Attacked In Violent Reaction To Pope’S Remarks
BARNABAS FUND - September 19, 2006 - The well organised expressions of rage across the Muslim word in response to a quotation about jihad cited by Pope Benedict XVI last Tuesday 12th September prove once again that there are aspects of Islam which are intrinsically linked to violence.

Various Muslim leaders have called for demonstrations and protests, including the influential cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who has called for a “day of rational anger” and has also warned Muslims not to attack churches. Sadly, however, indigenous Christians and expatriate Christian workers have already become victims in the outburst of Muslim anger against the pope. The perpetrators of these attacks have shown the truth of the very allegation they loudly reject and protest against. Following are some of the violent incidents linked to Muslim anger about the pope’s remarks .

Palestinian Authority

In Gaza a 1,425 year-old church was repeatedly hit by homemade explosives on Friday15 September. On Saturday 16 September attackers hurled firebombs and opened fire at four churches in the West Bank (two of them in Nablus). On Sunday 17 September 2006 another two churches in the West Bank were attacked: a stone church in Tulkarm built 170 years ago was torched before dawn and a church in Tubas was attacked with firebombs and partially burned. A group claiming responsibility for the attacks called itself the “Lions of Monotheism” and said it was protesting against the pope’s words.

Somalia

In Somalia a prominent Mogadishu cleric, Sheikh Abulbakar Hassan Malin during Friday prayers on 15 September called on Muslims to “hunt down” and kill then pope for his remarks: “Whoever offends our Prophet Mohammed should be killed on the spot by the nearest Muslim”. One day later, on Saturday 16 September 2006 an Italian nun was shot dead in a hospital in Mogadishu. Gunmen entered the SOS hospital and shot the nun before escaping. The nun, in her 70s, was one of the longest-serving members of the Catholic church in Mogadishu.

Iraq

In Basra a bomb exploded on Friday 15 September in front of a church in the Al-Ashhar neighbourhood when the guard opened the church door. The guard was mercifully not hurt. This incident is thought to be linked to the pope’s remarks because of the date on which it occurred.

Help and support Barnabas Fund by clicking here - [Link]

http://www.barnabasfund.org/archivenews/article.php?ID_news_items=223

Cathedral and churches burned in Nigeria as angry Muslims riot in Dutse:
Barnabas Fund launches an appeal

Christians have again come under attack by mobs of angry Muslims in Northern Nigeria. The rioting apparently started following an allegation that a Christian woman had made insulting comments about Muhammad.

On 19th September in the city of Dutse, in the northern Nigerian state of Jigawa, a mob of Muslim youths set upon the Christian minority in the city. St. Peter's Anglican Cathedral was burnt to the ground and the Bishop’s office destroyed. Initial reports speak of between 4 and 10 other churches as well as shops, vehicles and homes belonging to Christians having been set ablaze. There are believed to be 15 churches locally, so 10 would amount to two-thirds of all the churches in the area. Several people were injured. According to some reports the state governor was himself attacked when he tried to calm the mob and was hurriedly taken away from the area. The mob was only quelled when hundreds of heavily armed police belatedly began to patrol the city.

The context of the Pope’s speech

The Muslim world was already uproar in response to a quotation about jihad cited by Pope Benedict XVI on 12th September. There have been attacks against Christians in the Palestinian territories, Somalia and Iraq. See other article - [ Link ]

There have also been many verbal protests. The Islamic cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a so-called moderate who had justified violence in the past, called for today 22nd September to be a “day of rational anger” across the world and warned Muslims not to attack churches. Sadly his warning against violence does not seem to have been heeded.

Meanwhile, certain Muslim leaders and groups have issued further statements showing a violent intent. The Ansar al-Sunna group in Iraq called the Pope a “stupid pig” and a “blasphemer”, and urged Muslims to do more than just protest. Al-Qaeda in Iraq publicly threatened Christians saying, “We will destroy the cross … then all that will be accepted will be conversion or the sword (death). May God enable us to slit their throats, and make their money and descendants the bounty of the mujahideen (those who engage in jihad).”

Barnabas Fund’s International Director, Dr Patrick Sookhdeo commented,

“Muslims are always saying that Islam is a religion of peace. But many Christians in the Muslim world know differently. For them, Islam has been and remains a religion which metes out violence. Otherwise, why should Islam’s followers attack and destroy them so often? Muslims must have the courage now to address this part of their faith and stop these attacks on Christians.”

Aid for victims of Dutse rioting

Barnabas Fund is launching an appeal to help the Christian victims of the Dutse rioting. Nigerian church leaders say the immediate needs are for food and clothing. Later it will be necessary to rebuild churches and homes which have been destroyed.

Please click this [ Link ] to donate online using our secure server. (Please quote project reference 39-639 when you send your gift.)

If you prefer to telephone, dial:

0800 587 4006 from within the UK or +44 1672 565031 from outside the UK.(Please quote project reference 39-639 when you send your gift.)
If you prefer to send a cheque by post, click this [ Link ] for addresses of our regional offices and to print a donation page. (Please quote project reference 39-639 when you send your gift.)

Please join with us in prayer...
1. Thank the Lord that no one was killed in the rioting and pray for Christians who have lost their homes and livelihoods as well as for the injured.

2. Pray that Muslim leaders will teach Muslims to understand that violent reactions to perceived insults are unacceptable.

3. Pray for the protection of Christian minorities facing the threat of attack throughout the Muslim world.

Help and support Barnabas Fund by clicking here - [ Link ]

http://www.barnabasfund.org/archivenews/article.php?ID_news_items=225

Europe blasted for not defending Pope
THE AGE - September 24, 2006 - The president of the European Commission has expressed disappointment that European leaders failed to defend Pope Benedict XVI over his recent remarks about Islam.

Jose Manuel Barroso said that while Europe must take the threat of Islamic extremists "very seriously", it must not confuse tolerance with "a form of political correctness" that puts others' values above its own.

"I was disappointed that there weren't more European leaders who said, 'Of course the Pope has the right to express his point of view'," Barroso was quoted as saying in Germany's Welt am Sonntag weekly on Sunday.

"We must defend our values."

Barroso also urged Europeans to encourage moderate Islamic leaders to take a stronger stance against the extremists.

"The problem is not the comments of the Pope, but the reaction of the extremists," Barroso said.

In a September 12 address at the University of Regensburg in Germany, Benedict cited the words of a Byzantine emperor who characterised some of the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed as "evil and inhuman", particularly "his command to spread by the sword the faith".

His comments triggered fury in the Muslim world, where extremists took to the streets in protest.

The Pope has said several times he was sorry about the reactions to his remarks and that they did not reflect his own opinions.

The Pope is to meet later this week with representatives of Muslim countries as part of efforts to defuse the anger.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/Europe-blasted-for-not-defending-Pope/2006/09/24/1159036411193.html

Australia : Outcry over Pope 'unjust'
HEARLD SUN - September 24, 2006 - FEDERAL Treasurer Peter Costello has defended the Pope over his controversial comments on Islam last week, saying the violent reaction was about stifling free speech.
In a speech yesterday, in which he hit the efforts of Islamic extremists to force their views, Mr Costello urged his audience to read the Pope's speech and wonder at the violent reaction.

"How can one religion exercise the freedom to speak on its values, its faith, without prompting a violent response from other religions?" Mr Costello said at the Australian Christian Lobby national conference in Canberra.

"It can only happen where we all accept a set of rules -- the right to freedom of speech without receiving violence in return, with rights respected and enforced by a state.

"At the international level, it can only occur where the international order is observed by a series of nation states who recognise each other and respect these rights internationally."

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20465470-663,00.html

Thousands Rally Against Pope in Mideast
ASSOCIATED PRESS - By SARAH EL DEEB - September 22, 2006 - JERUSALEM - Thousands of Muslim worshippers staged marches against Pope Benedict XVI in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza on Friday, waving green Hamas banners and denouncing him as a "coward" and an "agent of the Americans."

The demonstrations in the Middle East, as well as smaller rallies in Pakistan and Malaysia, came as Benedict invited representatives of Muslim countries to meet Monday at his summer residence, the Vatican said.

The Vatican has been seeking to defuse anger across the Muslim world that followed the pope's remarks about Islam last week in Germany.

Benedict cited the words of a Byzantine emperor who characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as "evil and inhuman," particularly "his command to spread by the sword the faith."

The pope said Sunday that he was "deeply sorry" about the reactions to his remarks and that they did not reflect his own opinions. Earlier this week, he said his comments were open to misinterpretation and that he had "deep respect" for Islam.

He has not issued a direct apology, as demanded by Muslim leaders. Earlier in the week, protesters attacked seven churches in the West Bank and Gaza, causing little damage and no injuries.

At Islam's third-holiest shrine, the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, hundreds of worshippers hoisted black flags and banners that read, "Conquering Rome is the answer." Protesters chanted, "The army of Islam will return." The march dispersed peacefully.

In the West Bank city of Nablus, Hamas supporters took to the streets after prayers, shouting slogans against the pope and waving Hamas flags. Raising their hands to the sky, the more than 2,000 protesters chanted: "We put up with hunger, detention and occupation, but we won't put up with the offending the prophet. We sacrifice our lives for you prophet."

Marching in the streets of Nablus, the protesters called the pope a "coward and agent of the Americans."

In northern Gaza, more than 1,000 Islamic Jihad supporters shouted in praise of the prophet, and waved black flags. Khader Habib, an Islamic Jihad leader, told the crowd that the pope's comments "indicate that this pope doesn't understand Islam or the prophet."

In Ramallah, hundreds of Hamas supporters marched around the city center.

Hundreds of radical Islamists chanting "Down with the pope" rallied in several Pakistani cities.

More than 500 supporters of a coalition of six Islamic parties, called Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal, or MMA, demanded the pope's removal and accused him of supporting the policies of President Bush.

"If I get hold of the pope, I will hang him," Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, a senior MMA leader, told protesters in Islamabad, who carried placards reading "Terrorist, extremist Pope be hanged!" and "Down with Muslims' enemies!"

In Karachi, another MMA leader, Ghafoor Ahmed, accused the pope of wanting to force "Christians and Muslims against each other."

"We condemn the pope. We will not tolerate insulting remarks against Islam or our Prophet Muhammad," Ahmed said at a protest that drew about 300 people.

Another 200 rallied in the eastern city of Lahore, while several dozen protested in Multan.

The demonstrations came a day after 1,000 clerics and religious leaders met in Lahore and called for the pope's removal and warned the West of consequences if it didn't change its stance regarding Islam.

Thursday's meeting was organized by radical Islamic Jamaat al-Dawat group, which runs schools, colleges and medical clinics. In April, Washington put the group on a list of terrorist organizations for its alleged links with militants fighting in the Indian part of Kashmir.

After the meeting, a statement was issued demanding the West "change its stance regarding Islam (or) it will face severe consequences." It did not elaborate.

It also said that jihad was not terrorism and that "Islam was not propagated with the sword."

Malaysia 's opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party staged demonstrations outside mosques nationwide, calling for the pope to fully retract his remarks. In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's largest city, some 150 party members chanted "Stop the insults" and held a banner that read "We Muslims are peace-loving people.

Associated Press writers Munir Ahmad in Islamabad, Zarar Khan inKarachi, Asif Shahzad in Lahore and Khalid Tanveer in Multan contributed to this report.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060922/D8K9UC380.html

Pope invites Muslim envoys to meeting on Monday
REUTERS - September 22, 2006 - VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict has invited the ambassadors of Muslim countries at the Vatican, as well as leaders of Italy's own Muslim community, to a meeting on Monday at his summer palace, a senior Vatican official said on Friday.

The meeting is part of the Vatican's diplomatic efforts to explain to offended Muslims that a speech in Germany last week seen as portraying Islam as violent has been misunderstood.

"We welcome it and are definitely going to participate," said Iran's deputy ambassador to the Holy See, Ahmad Faihma.

"This is a positive signal from the Vatican. I know that this will improve relations with the Islamic world," the Iranian diplomat told Reuters.

The leader of more than a billion Roman Catholics worldwide has expressed regret three times in the past week for the reaction caused by his speech quoting 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, who spoke of the Prophet Mohammad's "command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

But he has not given the unequivocal apology demanded by many Muslims. Al Qaeda groups have declared war on the Church, Iraqi protesters have burned the Pope's effigy and some Turkish religious officials petitioned for his arrest.

The German-born Pope said at his Wednesday audience that his real intention had been to "explain that religion and violence do not go together but religion and reason do."

Muslim diplomats accredited at the Holy See were sent an invitation on Friday by the Vatican secretary of state, while the leaders of Italy's Islamic community were invited by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

It was not clear if any Muslim leaders from outside Italy would be invited to the meeting, which takes place at 1000 GMT on Monday.

http://reuters.myway.com/article/20060922/2006-09-22T102431Z_01_L22706866_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-POPE-ISLAM-MEETING-DC.html

Crisis Shows Pope Fallibility: Yusuf Islam
ISLAM ONLINE - By Islamonline.net & News Agencies - September 23, 2006 - LONDON — The crisis triggered by Pope XVI's recent remarks on Islam showed no abating Sunday, September 24, with Yusuf Islam saying its called into question Catholic theology that the pontiff cannot err, and EU Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso blasting Muslim reaction and European silence.

"At one point I used to believe that the Pope was infallible," Islam, previously British pop star Cat Stevens, told the BBC television referring to his time at a Catholic school.

Roman Catholic theology says that the pope cannot err in teachings on faith or morals, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The former pop star, who reverted to Islam in 1977 and has since become a prominent member of Britain 's Muslim community, stressed that the pope's comments showed he was fallible.

"Because of the kind of interpretation he had of Islam, he should read Gandhi and find out what he said about Islam," said the singer, adding that the Indian leader had a more peaceful interpretation of the faith.

Pope XVI has quoted criticism of Islam and Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) by 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, who wrote that everything Muhammad brought was evil and inhuman, "such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

The remarks have sparked a widespread anger and condemnation in the Muslim world.

The pontiff "should have looked elsewhere if he wanted to quote but we respect the Pope and his position -- I do believe he has retracted in a way that statement and that's all to the good," said Yusuf Islam.

Pope Benedict XVI insisted on Wednesday, September 20, that worldwide Muslim anger over his speech was the result of an "unfortunate misunderstanding" and that the quotes did not reflect his personal opinion.

Islam is marking his comeback with a live performance in London on September 26 to an audience that includes former US president Bill Clinton, Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson as well as the famous acting couple, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

In November, 40 years after his debut album, he is releasing a new album to bridge the widening gap between Islam and the West.

Silent Europe

In a related development, Barroso strongly defended Pope Benedict XVI in a newspaper interview Sunday, saying Muslim criticism was "unacceptable" and asking why Europe was so silent.

"Attacking the pope because he refers in a discourse to a historical document is completely unacceptable," he told Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

"The problem is not the comments of the pope but the reactions of the extremists... We must defend our values."

The leader of the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics had come under increasing pressure to make an unequivocal apology.

The International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS) has canceled an Islamic-Christian summit slated for November or December over the pope's refusal to remove the controversial quotes from his lecture.

The Dublin-based body has also declared an end to dialogue with the Vatican over the crisis.

Al-Azhar, the highest seat of learning in the Sunni world, has also snubbed a papal invitation to visit the Vatican and a proposal to invite the pontiff to deliver a lecture on Islam over the controversy.

The EU Commission president lashed out a European leaders for not rushing to the pope's aid.

"I was disappointed that there weren't more European leaders who said: 'Obviously the pope has the right to express his opinion'," he said.

Barroso's comments came a day after media quoted former Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar as saying Benedict had no need to apologize.

Aznar, instead, asked Muslims to apologize for the conquest of much of the Iberian Peninsula, which lasted from the eighth to the 15th century.

US President George Bush was probably the first Western leader to defend the pope.

"I was appreciative of the fact that he tried to clarify what he meant," Bush told CNN.

"This is a struggle not between religions -- and that's what people have got to understand."

http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2006-09/24/07.shtml

Papal assassin warns Pope Benedict his 'life is in danger' if he visits Turkey
THE EVENING STANDARD of LONDON - September 20, 2006 - Pope Benedict faces a growing chorus of demands to make an unequivocal apology for remarks seen as portraying Islam as a violent faith, despite attempts by Western leaders and churchmen to defuse the crisis.

The calls came as it emerged papal hitman Mehmet Ali Agca, who is serving a life sentence for the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II in May 1981, has written to Pope Benedict XVI from jail, warning him not to go to Turkey as planned in November in the light of his remarks.

Agca, a Turk gave his ominous warning in a letter to an Italian daily newspaper.

For many Muslims, the Pope's attempt to explain himself on Sunday did not go far enough and observers were waiting to see if he would speak about it again at his general audience at the Vatican.

The Pope enraged Muslims in a speech a week ago in Germany quoting 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, who said everything the Prophet Mohammad brought was evil "such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached".

The leader of the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics said on Sunday he was 'deeply sorry' for the reaction caused - but stopped short of apologising for his words or retracting them.

In a telegram to the order of an Italian nun killed in Somalia who may be the crisis' first victim, the Pope hoped her sacrifice would help build "real fraternity among people with reciprocal respect of everyone's religious convictions".

But the deluge of criticism and threats continued. Italian media said an al Qaeda group in Egypt called for the German-born Pope, who is 79, to be punished by strict Islamic sharia law for insulting their religion. An al Qaeda umbrella group in Iraq has also vowed war on "worshippers of the cross".

Workers at Turkey's Directorate General for Religious Affairs, or Diyanet, petitioned for the arrest of the Pontiff when he makes a scheduled visit to Turkey in November.

They held banners saying "Either apologise or don't come". The Pope's comments annoyed the Turkish government but there are no plans yet to cancel the trip.

In Iraq, where an effigy of the Pope was burnt on Monday, parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani called his apology "inadequate and not commensurate with the moral damage caused to Muslims' feelings".

The Grand Mufti of the Palestinian Territories, Sheikh Mohammad Hussein, said the Pope must make "a personal and clear apology to 1.5 billion Muslims in this world for the insult caused by his lecture..."

In his two page letter to leading Italian Rome based daily La Repubblica, Agca, who was a member of the Turkish terrorist cell the White Wolves, wrote: "Pope Ratzinger listen to someone who knows these things very well.

"Your life is in danger. You absolutely must not come to Turkey. Pope Benedict you must know that between 1980 and 2000 I was in contact with various Western intelligence services and with the Vatican.

"In those twenty tears I learnt many things and I came into possession of many classified secrets."

The letter closed with Agca imploring Pope Benedict to resign for his own safety he wrote: "For your own welfare you must make a grand gesture of honour and resign.

"Then you must return to your native land (Germany) and in your place an Italian cardinal can be elected Pope, possibly (cardinal Dionigi) Tettamanzi or (cardinal Tarcisio) Bertone.

"Then the Vatican should become a centre of peace and fraternity. The world has a need of this it does not need hatred and vendetta."

Agca was jailed for his attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II in St Peter's Square in May 1981 and in 2000 he was allowed to return to Turkey to serve the rest of his sentence.

Earlier this year he was briefly freed from his life sentence after a judge released him but after a huge outcry he was jailed again within days and is now at Istanbul's Kartal Maltepe jail and not due for release until 2012.

In Italy, politicians and churchmen defended the Pope and said his words were taken out of context and his explanation was quite clear.

Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano published it in Arabic on its front page to try to clarify his meaning.

But while some Muslim clerics say the alleged insults are the latest skirmish in a new Western 'crusade' against Islam, some Catholic churchmen say the Pontiff's words have been purposefully twisted by militant Muslims.

"We pray for the Pope whose words have been maliciously interpreted," Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe said in Naples at the annual 'miracle' of fourth century Saint Gennaro, whose blood turns from powder to liquid in what is seen as a good omen.

The head of Australia's 5.1 million-strong Catholic church went as far as to say that violent reaction "justified one of Pope Benedict's main fears" about Islam.

Cardinal George Pell said this showed "the link for many Islamists between religion and violence, their refusal to respond to criticism with rational arguments, but only with demonstrations, threats and actual violence". Local Muslims called Pell's comments 'unhelpful'.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23367507-details/Papal+assassin+warns+Pope+Benedict+his+'life+is+in+danger'+if+he+ visits+Turkey/article.do

Pope says anti-Islam quotes not his own views
REUTERS - By Philip Pullella and Stephen Brown - September 20, 2006  - VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict said on Wednesday that his use of medieval quotes portraying a violent Islam did not reflect his views and were misunderstood, but he did not give the clear apology still demanded by many Muslims.

The leader of the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics, whose speech last week has provoked al Qaeda groups to declare war on the Church, Iraqis to burn the Pope's effigy and Turks to petition for his arrest, said he had not meant to cause offence.

Speaking amid tighter security at his weekly general audience in St Peter's Square, the Pope repeated the thrust of remarks made on Sunday that his words had been misunderstood and expressed "profound respect" for Muslims.

But Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said the Pope's latest explanation was "definitely not an apology."

"The Pope says it does not express his views. So what are his views?" said Mohammed Habib, deputy head of the influential group. "He must say these views (in the quotes) are incorrect."

Even sympathetic observers say the Pope was clumsy to quote 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus saying that everything the Prophet Mohammad brought was evil, "such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

The Pope, a former theology professor, invited his listeners to re-read his speech.

"For the careful reader of my text it is clear that I in no way wanted to make mine the negative words pronounced by the medieval emperor and their polemical content does not reflect my personal conviction," he said.

His said his intention had been to "explain that religion and violence do not go together but religion and reason do." He said he hoped the furor could help encourage "positive and even self-critical dialogue."

VATICAN MEETING

He expressed his "profound respect for the great religions, particularly for Muslims, who worship the one God and with whom we are committed to defending and promoting together social justice, moral values, peace and freedom for all humanity."

A Vatican source said the Pope's secretary of state would invite ambassadors from Islamic countries accredited to the Holy See to a meeting this week or early next week.

Asked if the purpose of the meeting was to explain the Pope's remarks, the source said: "There is not much more to explain now that the Pope has spoken about it twice. This is a gesture of friendship."

In a sign of increased concern about the Pope's safety because of the sometimes violent response to his speech -- which has included seven Christian churches being attacked in the West Bank -- security was tighter at the Vatican on Wednesday.

The Prefect of Rome, Achille Serra, said there was "no specific threat but it would be naive not to take the situation into account," adding that security had been "reinforced." Court sources said public prosecutors were now investigating threats against the Pope and Italy carried on hard-line Muslim websites.

But, as is customary, the Pope still was driven among the crowd standing on the back of an open jeep as it passed among tens of thousands of people in the square.

In Turkey, Mehmet Ali Agca, who tried to kill Pope John Paul in 1981, warned Benedict not to make a planned visit to the country in late November, saying his life would be in danger.

"As someone who knows these matters well, I say your life is in danger. Don't come to Turkey," Agca, who is serving a sentence for the killing of a newspaper editor in the 1970s, said in comments released in a statement by his lawyer.

Western leaders, including President George W. Bush, as well as Church leaders and some Muslims, are struggling to calm the crisis. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said he was "completely convinced the Pope never wanted to cause an argument or a confrontation, or criticize the Islamic religion."

One of the few signs that the crisis may have peaked came from Iran's hard-line president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who told NBC television in New York that now that the Pope has taken back his statement "there is no problem."

http://reuters.myway.com/article/20060920/2006-09-20T114223Z_01_L20189820_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-POPE-ISLAM-DC.html

The Pope must die, says Muslim
THE LONDON EVENING STANDARD - September 18, 2006 - A notorious Muslim extremist told a demonstration in London yesterday that the Pope should face execution.

Anjem Choudary said those who insulted Islam would be "subject to capital punishment".

His remarks came during a protest outside Westminster Cathedral on a day that worldwide anger among Muslim hardliners towards Pope Benedict XVI appeared to deepen.

The pontiff yesterday apologised for causing offence during a lecture last week. Quoting a medieval emperor, his words were taken to mean that he called the prophet Mohammed "evil and inhuman".

He insisted he was "deeply sorry" but his humbling words did not go far enough to silence all his critics or quell the violence and anger he has triggered.

A nun was shot dead in Somalia by Islamic gunmen and churches came under attack in Palestine.

Choudary's appeal for the death of Pope Benedict was the second time he has been linked with apparent incitement to murder within a year. ... 

There were fierce denunciations of the pontiff from Iran. The English-language Tehran Times called his lecture in Bavaria last week "code words for a new crusade".

The powerful cleric Ahmad Khatami told theological students in the holy city of Qom: The "Pope should fall on his knees in front of a senior Muslim cleric and try to understand Islam." ...

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23367232-details/The+Pope+must+die%2C+says+Muslim/article.do

Muslims Express Fury Over Pope's Remarks
ASSOCIATED PRESS - By SUZAN FRASER - September 15, 2006 - ANKARA, Turkey -- Muslims around the world expressed outrage Friday over Pope Benedict XVI's comments on Islam, with Turkey's ruling party accusing him of trying to revive the spirit of the Crusades and scores taking to the streets in protest.

Pakistan 's parliament unanimously condemned the pope, and the Foreign Ministry summoned the Vatican's ambassador to express regret over the remarks.

The Vatican said the pope did not intend the remarks _ made in Germany on Tuesday during an address at a university _ to be offensive.

Benedict quoted from a book recounting a conversation between 14th century Byzantine Christian Emperor Manuel Paleologos II and a Persian scholar on the truths of Christianity and Islam.

"The emperor comes to speak about the issue of jihad, holy war," the pope said. "He said, I quote, 'Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.'"

Benedict did not explicitly agree with the statement nor repudiate it.

The comments raised tensions ahead of his planned visit to Turkey in November _ his first pilgrimage to a Muslim country.

Salih Kapusuz, a deputy leader of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party, said Benedict's remarks were either "the result of pitiful ignorance" about Islam and its prophet, or a deliberate distortion.

"He has a dark mentality that comes from the darkness of the Middle Ages. He is a poor thing that has not benefited from the spirit of reform in the Christian world," Kapusuz was quoted as saying by the state-owned Anatolia news agency. "It looks like an effort to revive the mentality of the Crusades."

"Benedict, the author of such unfortunate and insolent remarks, is going down in history for his words," he said. "He is going down in history in the same category as leaders such as (Adolf) Hitler and (Benito) Mussolini."

Turkey 's staunchly secular opposition party also demanded that Benedict apologize to Muslims before his visit.

"The pope has thrown gasoline onto the fire ... in a world where the risk of a clash between religions is high," said Haluk Koc, deputy head of the Republican People's Party, as a small group of protesters left a black wreath in front of the Vatican's embassy in Ankara.

Lebanon 's most senior Shiite Muslim cleric denounced the remarks and demanded the pope personally apologize.

"We do not accept the apology through Vatican channels ... and ask him (Benedict) to offer a personal apology _ not through his officials _ to Muslims for this false reading (of Islam)," Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah told worshippers.

After Benedict returned to Italy on Thursday, Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said, "It certainly wasn't the intention of the pope to carry out a deep examination of jihad (holy war) and on Muslim thought on it, much less to offend the sensibility of Muslim believers."

Lombardi insisted the pope respects Islam. Benedict wants to "cultivate an attitude of respect and dialogue toward the other religions and cultures, obviously also toward Islam," he said.

Turkey 's top Islamic cleric, Ali Bardakoglu, said Lombardi's comments were not enough. "The pope himself should stand at the dais and say 'I take it all back, I was misunderstood' and apologize in order to contribute to world peace," he said.

In another development, the pope appointed Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, a French prelate with experience in the Muslim world, as the Vatican's new foreign minister.

But anger still swept across the Muslim world, with Pakistan's parliament unanimously adopting a resolution condemning the pope for making what it called "derogatory" comments about Islam and the Foreign Ministry summoning the Vatican ambassador.

The pope's words were "deeply disturbing for Muslims all over the world, and had caused great hurt and anguish," the Foreign Ministry said.

The Vatican's envoy "regretted the hurt caused to Muslims and said that the media had totally misconstrued certain historical quotes that the Pope used in his lecture," the statement said.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, of the Islamic Hamas group, said the pontiff had offended Muslims everywhere and called on him to reconsider his statement. He said there would be organized protests later in the day "to express Palestinian anger."

In Iraq's Shiite Muslim-stronghold of Kufa, Sheik Salah al-Ubaidi criticized the pope during Friday prayers, saying his remarks were a second assault on Islam.

"Last year and in the same month the Danish cartoon assaulted Islam," he said, referring to a Danish newspaper's publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, which triggered outrage in the Muslim world.

Indonesia , which has more Muslims than any other in the world, had no immediate response to the pope's comments, but religious groups were quick to protest, condemning the words as insensitive and damaging.

"A respected religious leader like the pope should not say such things, especially as nations across the globe are struggling to find ways to bridge differences between faiths and build understanding," said Ma'ruf Amin, a member of Indonesia Council of Clerics, the country's highest Islamic body.

Din Syamsuddin, chairman of Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second-largest Islamic organization, also expressed disappointment but urged calm.

The head of Britain's largest Muslim body said it was disturbed by the pope's use of a 14th century passage. The Muslim Council, which represents 400 groups in Britain, said the emperor's views were "ill- informed and frankly bigoted."

"One would expect a religious leader such as the pope to act and speak with responsibility and repudiate the Byzantine emperor's views in the interests of truth and harmonious relations between the followers of Islam and Catholicism," said Muhammad Abdul Bari, the council's secretary-general.

Elsewhere, Syria's top Sunni Muslim religious authority, Sheik Ahmad Badereddine Hassoun, sent a letter to the pope that he feared the comments would worsen interfaith relations.

Later, he delivered a scathing sermon in which he denounced the remarks. "We have heard about your extremism and hate for Arabs and Muslims. Now that you have dropped the mask from your face we see its ugliness and extremist nature," he said.

In Cairo, Egypt, about 100 demonstrators gathered in an anti-Vatican protest outside the al-Azhar mosque, chanting "Oh Crusaders, oh cowards! Down with the pope!"

Dozens of lawyers in Indian-controlled Kashmir also protested, while two separatist leaders were placed under house arrest as they were planning to lead demonstrations.

Benedict, who has made the fight against growing secularism in Western society a theme of his pontificate, is expected to visit Turkey in late November. He was invited by the staunchly secularist Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who said the invitation was part of an effort to strengthen dialogue between religions.

Associated Press writers Benjamin Harvey in Istanbul, Zeina Karam in Beirut, Lebanon, Maggie Michael in Cairo, Egypt, contributed to this report.

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/09/15/D8K5BNH81.html

Proverbs 29:18

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Proverbs 29:18 (ESV)

Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.

Proverbs 29:18

Without revelation people run wild,
but one who keeps the law will be happy.
(The Holman Christian Standard Bible)

2 Timothy 4:3-4
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

Evangelical Author Puts Progressive Spin On Traditional Faith
THE WASHINGTON POST COMPANY - By Caryle Murphy - September 10, 2006 - Lyndsay Moseley was no longer inspired by the evangelical Christian faith of her youth. As an environmental activist, she believed that it offered little spiritual support for her work and was overly focused on opposing abortion and gay marriage.
Then the 27-year-old District resident discovered Brian D. McLaren of Laurel, one of contemporary Christianity's hottest authors and founding pastor of Cedar Ridge Community Church in upper Montgomery County.
"He always talks about the environment as a priority when he talks about the church being relevant to the world," Moseley said. "He's leading a [spiritual] conversation that needs to happen," one that "I've been hungry for."
McLaren has emerged as one of the most prominent voices in an increasingly active group of progressive evangelicals who are challenging the theological orthodoxy and political dominance of the religious right. He also is an intellectual guru of "emerging church," a grass-roots movement among young evangelicals exploring new models of living out their Christian faith.
Progressives, who range from 11 to 36 percent of all evangelicals, according to various polls, are still overshadowed by the Christian right among evangelicals. But the steady popularity of McLaren's books over the past eight years signals an expanding diversity of thought in this important political constituency.
McLaren, 50, offers an evangelical vision that emphasizes tolerance and social justice. He contends that people can follow Jesus's way without becoming Christian. In the latest of his eight books, "The Secret Message of Jesus," which has sold 55,000 copies since its April release, he argues that Christians should be more concerned about creating a just " Kingdom of God" on earth than about getting into heaven.
Along with such other progressive evangelicals as Washington-based anti-poverty activist Jim Wallis and educator Tony Campolo, McLaren is openly critical of the conservative political agenda favored by many evangelicals.
"When we present Jesus as a pro-war, anti-poor, anti-homosexual, anti-environment, pro-nuclear weapons authority figure draped in an American flag, I think we are making a travesty of the portrait of Jesus we find in the gospels," McLaren said in a recent interview.
Scot McKnight, a professor of religious studies at Chicago's North Park University who has studied McLaren's career, said that "he wants there to be greater cooperation among Christians, and he thinks evangelical Christians have aligned themselves too closely with the Republican Party. He wants to see Christians . . . pursue what is right, regardless of the political party's platform."
What makes McLaren's ideas attractive to progressive evangelicals appalls the more numerous conservatives. Noting that he fails to condemn homosexuality, one conservative Web site called him "A True Son of Lucifer" for ignoring "absolute biblical truth." And last year, Baptists in Kentucky revoked a speaking invitation after McLaren said that followers of Jesus might not be the only ones to gain salvation.
"If you have some person or movement coming along calling into question the non-negotiables of Christianity, then those who espouse Christianity find such a challenge dangerous," said Donald A. Carson, professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Illinois, who has criticized McLaren's theology.
Though a "creative, sparkly writer," added Carson, McLaren has "got so many things wrong in his analysis that his work is not going to last that long."
Modernizing the Message
"Emerging church" is a loose network of mostly young evangelicals who believe the Christian message needs to be made more relevant in a time of rapid technological and societal change, particularly to those who've never been part of any church. Participants refer to their interaction as a "conversation," much of which takes place on the Internet at sites such as http://www.emergentvillage.com and blogs such as pomomusings.com.
"We are questioning a lot of presuppositions of conventional Christians: What should a church look like? How do we really understand Scripture in a modern context?" said Tony Jones, the conversation's national coordinator. "To conservatives, we seem like relativists, and to liberals, we seem like Jesus freaks."
The movement has no membership rolls, set beliefs or creed; liturgical diversity is encouraged. There is no way to know how many congregations are putting "emerging church" ideas into practice, Jones said. But "thousands of churches and pastors are . . . listening in, coming to hear Brian and reading my weekly e-mails."
McLaren said the name "emerging church" came out of a 2001 discussion he had with Doug Pagitt, pastor of Solomon's Porch in Minneapolis, about "why the megachurches were not attracting young people." The reasons, experts said, were becoming evident in the 1990s: dissatisfaction with the rightward drift in evangelical politics; worship styles so contemporary and casual they had no spiritual uplift; a lack of emphasis on social justice; and a theology that some say reduced Christianity to a recipe.
"The modern Christian formula of 'I mentally assent to the fact that Jesus died for my sins and therefore I get to live forever in heaven' . . . is entirely cognitive," said Ken Archer, 33, a D.C. software entrepreneur who is studying philosophy at Catholic University. "It's a mathematical formula [that] leaves the rest of our being unfulfilled."
McLaren's 2001 book, "A New Kind of Christian," captured the dissatisfaction. "I felt like someone had read my mind," said Michael Lamson, 31, an evangelical youth pastor in Mercersburg, Pa. Three years later, in "A Generous Orthodoxy," McLaren elaborated his theological outlook, which became a major influence on the "emerging conversation."
"What Brian is contributing is excellent questions that expose the modern roots of our spiritual angst," said Archer, who has had long conversations with McLaren. "He sees the answers coming from others, and he has encouraged thousands of people, including myself, to find the answers."
A Fellowship Expands
Cedar Ridge, the congregation McLaren founded, is a far cry from the religious environment in which he was raised in Rockville. His family belonged to the ultraconservative Plymouth Brethren, which also is the childhood church of activist Wallis and radio celebrity Garrison Keillor.
As someone who loved books, music and science, "I was on the way out from the Christian faith" in his mid-teens, said the balding McLaren, who wears glasses and a closely cropped grey beard.
But that changed with the Jesus Movement of the 1970s, whose anti-establishment spirit attracted him. "I've always had the sense that Jesus's message is not a chaplaincy to the establishment," he said, "but that it is countercultural."
In 1982, while he was teaching English at the University of Maryland, McLaren and his wife, Grace, started a small "fellowship group" in their College Park apartment. "We'd have prayer, I'd do a little Bible study, then we'd have dinner. It was mostly grad students," he recalled.
The group met for several years in homes and school buildings until it ended up at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Beltsville and took the name Cedar Ridge. McLaren left teaching -- and his unfinished doctorate studies -- to be pastor. In the late 1990s, the congregation of about 250 bought a 63-acre farm in Spencerville and moved there in January 1999.
The church now has an average attendance of 600 at Sunday services, and members say a big reason for the growth was McLaren's openness to ideas that are unconventional in evangelical circles.
"I don't see the issue of homosexuality as the simple black-and-white issue that some of my fellow evangelicals make it out to be," said McLaren, who last year was named by Time magazine among the "25 most influential evangelicals in America."
And while not happy about widespread abortions, he added, "to just say 'Okay, let's pass laws about it' seems to me to skip a number of important steps, like honest and open dialogue, persuasion and seeking to remove the conditions that make abortion so prevalent."
McLaren, who never attended seminary or divinity school, said his congregants' questions made him realize that the old answers no longer worked. "I remember thinking these are a different kind of question, and I didn't have good answers," he said. "I went through a real period of doubt . . . about the form of Christianity that I'd inherited. . . . In many ways, that struggle is what gave birth to my first book."
A Bigger Mission
The scent of summer grass hung in the steamy air on a recent Sunday morning as a parade of Toyota and Honda SUVs turned off Route 198 into the bucolic compound of Cedar Ridge. The onetime farm's brick silo stood in front of the new church -- built to look like a barn, complete with loft door. No religious symbols adorned the exterior.
Volunteers stood at the door greeting young families, elderly couples, singles and teenagers with studded ears. In the lobby, coffee and bagels were available. "Make yourself a nametag," invited a sign next to pens and labels.
The sanctuary is a huge open space with folding chairs circling a platform that serves as a pulpit. Behind that is an altar covered in purple cloth with a two-foot-high wooden cross. Behind that is a stage with two electric guitars, a keyboard, drums and tambourines. Two large video screens display words to contemporary hymns. The liturgy, which includes Communion, is casual but reverent.
Beverly Farmer of Silver Spring, a traffic reporter with WUSA (Channel 9), has attended Cedar Ridge for five years. "The big, metal building, the folding chairs, was not my idea of church . . . but it appealed to me," Farmer said. "I felt I was at home."
With McLaren's books drawing increased international attention, he asked to step down last year so he could travel more. Matthew Dyer took over as pastor in February.
But McLaren returned on a Sunday in July to preach on the theme of his latest book. Farmer, who was in the congregation that day, said she misses her former pastor but understands.
"Brian's mission is bigger than just Cedar Ridge," she said. "I know he has more work to do in this world."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/09/AR2006090901155_pf.html

Evangelical leader says voting for a Mormon not a problem
Politics over religion: He says Romney's faith not a barrier to his presidential bid

SALT LAKE TRIBUNE - By Peggy Fletcher Stack - September 9, 2006 - The Rev. Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, said Friday he would have no problem voting for a Mormon for U.S. president.
"We rejected an Evangelical [Harriet Meiers] for the Supreme Court and accepted a Catholic [Samuel Alito]," said Haggard, who was in Salt Lake City to address the annual convention of Religion Newswriters Association. "It's a question of competence."
Evangelical Christians are more interested "in good government," than in religious affiliation, said the founder and senior pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo.
As the leader of the influential National Association of Evangelicals, which has 45,000 churches across the United States, Haggard's statement is significant because of the ongoing tensions over theology between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and evangelical Christians. To many, Mormons are viewed as non-Christians because of their extra-biblical scriptures, rejection of historic creeds, claims to divine authority and unique rituals.
Some political observers have already suggested that a candidate such as Mitt Romney, governor of Massachusetts and a Mormon, would have trouble wooing Evangelicals.
John Green, who studies religion and politics at the University of Akron, told The Salt Lake Tribune last year, "If [Romney] wanted to be president, he would have to get support of Evangelicals in the primaries, especially Evangelical foot soldiers," Green said. "Some of them might have some real reluctance to support a Mormon."
In July, a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll reported that 37 percent of Americans surveyed would not vote for a Mormon for president - and that clearly included some conservative Christians.
But a group calling itself "Evangelicals for Mitt" takes a position similar to Haggard's.
"The 2008 election is for president, not pastor," says the lead essay on the group's Web site. "We would never advocate that the governor become our pastor or lead our churches - we disagree with him profoundly on theological issues."
Haggard is clear on LDS theology.
"We believe Mormonism is a Christian cult," he said after his speech. "But we have the same positions on many social issues, pro-life and so on."
He said that Evangelicals and Catholics have long joined forces on these social issues and a similar dialogue about them between Evangelicals and Mormons is "in the early stages."
"We are in search for areas where we can stand together," Haggard said.
When it comes to voting for Romney, it will depend on the other choice or choices. If it came down to Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif., House Minority Leader) vs. Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney, the majority of Evangelicals would choose the Republican Catholic or Mormon, he said. "And don't think Evangelicals will vote as a block in the Primaries, either."
pstack@sltrib.com

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4311410

David Jeremiah Proposes "Major Paradigm Shift" For His Church
The Shadow Mountain pastor draws from Erwin McManus' book, The Barbarian Way

FROM THE LIGHTHOUSE – The Blog of Lighthouse Trails Research - September 17, 2006 - If you attended Shadow Mountain Community Church this weekend, then according to an email we received, you would have heard the second part of Pastor David Jeremiah's series called Journey with Jesus. But the title of this series is a bit misleading - Jeremiah isn't just talking about Jesus; he is discussing a book called The Barbarian Way . The book is written by Erwin McManus, who is pastor of Mosaic Church in California. In Friday's email, Jeremiah stated:
This weekend, I will be sharing the second message in our Fall Journey With Jesus. The title of the message is "The Manliness of Jesus." I am praying that it will fire you up as much as it has me. It's a major paradigm shift from our normal thoughts about Jesus. This week, I have read a book by Erwin McManus called THE BARBARIAN WAY. In it, he says something that should prepare our hearts for the weekend message.
While the quote from the book is benign, the book is not, and if any mention of the book is made by Jeremiah, it should be one of warning. If you have been following Jeremiah's slip toward what we might call contemplative/emerging Christianity, his promotion of McManus' book probably won't be too surprising. Last year, we mentioned on a VCY America radio program that Jeremiah was going to be speaking at the Lead Like Jesus conference with Ken Blanchard (whose conference it was). Shortly after this airing, Jeremiah pulled out of the conference and then Blanchard canceled the conference all together. Jeremiah then wrote a letter to Lighthouse Trails and made it public. He defended Ken Blanchard who had been and still is promoting the New Age, particularly New Age mysticism. After researching Jeremiah's 2003/2005 book, Life Wide Open , it made a little more sense why he would have no trouble with Blanchard's New Age proclivities. A special report on that book said:
David Jeremiah's 2003 book, Life Wide Open , has a subtitle of "Unleashing the Power of a Passionate Life." In the introduction of the book, Jeremiah tells readers that "A Small handful among us have discovered what the rest of us would pay dearly to know: How can we bring real, living excitement into this life?" Jeremiah goes on to tell readers that "This book is a map to the life of passion and purpose, the life wide open..." Who are these small handful of people who have discovered the secret? Well according to Jeremiah's book, his list includes Rick Warren, contemplative, feminine spiritualist Sue Monk Kidd ( When the Heart Waits ), contemplative Calvin Miller ( Into the Depths of God ), Buddhist sympathizer Peter Senge ( The Fifth Discipline ), emerging church leader Erwin McManus, contemplative Michael Card, and Brother Lawrence ( Practicing the Presence of God ).

Jeremiah had also written an endorsement on the back cover of Erwin McManus' book, Seizing Your Divine Moment . We contacted the publisher (Thomas Nelson) of that book after we learned that Jeremiah's name was going to be removed (because of negative publicity). An editor at TN told us that the book would be repackaged and re-titled, which it was (now called Chasing Daylight). Although Jeremiah has made no public statement renouncing his previous endorsements of contemplative and New Age authors, and never had his book Life Wide Open pulled from the market, it seemed like his endorsement removal of McManus' book was a good sign. But now it has become very confusing. Why was his name removed from one book of McManus' only to have him endorse another McManus book to his church family this weekend?

So what exactly is this latest book Jeremiah endorsed about? In The Barbarian Way , McManus tells readers that the story of the Crusades "awakens within me a primal longing that I am convinced waits to be unleashed within everyone who is a follower of Jesus Christ." But McManus has an unusual definition of "follower of Jesus Christ." He says: "When asked if they [Barbarians] are Christians, their answer might surprisingly be no, they are passionate followers of Jesus Christ." This might sound OK on the surface, but it is part of the new missiology and the new evangelicalism that Rick Warren and others proclaim, "God doesn't care what religion you are, just add Jesus to what you already have." Thus you can be a Buddhist with Jesus, a Hindu with Jesus - that's OK. McManus clarifies this when he states: "The greatest enemy to the movement of Jesus Christ is Christianity." He elaborates more:
They [Barbarians - who he tries to convince readers they should be] see Christianity as a world religion, in many ways no different from any other religious system. Whether Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, or Christianity, they're not about religion; they're about advancing the revolution Jesus started two thousand years ago (p.6).
While some may think McManus is talking about some kind of true revival, he's not, not a revival towards the Jesus of the Bible anyway. McManus' Jesus is all together different. And using the same lingo that most contemplatives use (and New Agers for that matter), he tells readers that they have been "recreated to live in a raw and primal spirituality" that listens "to the voice of the Spirit... Barbarians are not welcome among the civilized and are feared among the domesticated." The book reads more like a primer to prepare for an anarchist war than instruction and exhortation on how to live the Christian life according to the Bible. He says: "The way of Jesus is far too savage for their sensibilities (those who are "civilized")... Why a reckless call to awaken the barbarian faith within us at the risk of endangering this great civilization we have come to know as Christianity? ... It is time to hear the barbarian call, to form a barbarian tribe, and to unleash the barbarian revolt. Let the invasion begin."

The book is hard to read because the theology alone is so poor. McManus continually twists things around such as saying that John the Baptist's message of repentance (and Hell) was only for the religious leaders of the day, which isn't true. Or when he suggests that Jesus didn't like Israel, when Scripture tells us He wept for Jerusalem. This revolution that McManus would like to see is one that would eradicate Christianity off the face of the earth. He, like Rick Warren, insists that Christianity is thoroughly corrupt, and that a new movement is needed. McManus states: "Two thousand years ago, God started a revolt against the religion He started. So don't ever put it past God to cause a groundswell movement against churches and Christian institutions that bear His name." Here he erroneously states that God revolted against Judaism, which simply isn't true. In reality, God established the Law and the Prophets through the Jew whom He refers to as the apple of His eye. Jesus came as a sacrificial Lamb to save, and He informed his followers that the time is fulfilled - he wasn't overthrowing a religion - He came to fulfill prophecy. And now McManus' confused thinking extends to Christianity, suggesting now God will revolt against it as well.

McManus' use of words like barbarian, savage and other warlike terms are strange. Trying to make this look like a book on living radically for Jesus, while belittling anything that calls itself Christian, McManus wraps the book up by telling readers: "We need to find the courage and freedom to be ourselves. We need to let ourselves become the unique individuals that God created us to be. His exhortation is, 'When an opponent beheads one barbarian, he better be prepared, for we will return in force....We need to move together as God's people, a barbarian tribe .... There's a future to be created.'"

So just what does McManus mean by all this talk of barbarians and beheadings and a complete rejection of Christianity? Is he really talking about living radically for Jesus Christ? The Jesus of the Bible? The answers to these questions can be found throughout McManus' writings as well as his various ministries. For example, at Bethel Theological Seminary, McManus is a professor for the Doctor of Ministry of Emerging Leaders program. He teaches with his brother Alex McManus ( Into the Mystic), who promotes mysticism. Erwin McManus makes his own claim for mysticism in The Barbarian Way when he says we need to exchange reason (doctrine) for mysticism and suggests we